Love is blind  a Tokka story
by BxGeternity
Summary: Two best friends, both blind and frightened for their future...and one destiny.
1. Chapter One : Search of the Soul Mate

**Love is blind** **A Tokka story by _BXGeternity_**

**__****Hey guys! Welcome to the first chapter of my very first fanfic, ****Love is Blind. _Reviews are greatly appreciated, as well as constructive comments. Also, please keep in mind the following as you read :_**

**_1) English is not my first language, so there might be mistakes._**

**_2) This story takes place post-war, exactly six years after Sozins comet. Aang and Toph are 18, Sokka is 22, Katara is 20 and Mai and Zuko are 24 (Im not sure what their actual ages are in the series, so I guessed they were about 18 or something...) _**

**_3) This chapter is mostly written from Aangs perspective. Also, I grant the avatar a new hability in this story : he can, to a certain extent, feel the relationships between people. In other words, he can sort of tell if two people are, for instance, destined to be together. Thats how he knew he was meant to be with Katara the moment he saw her, and had a vision of Toph in the Swamp before he had even met her. This talent it sort of like this other capacity he has of feeling the links between all living things and between the four elements. _**

**_4) Finally, this is pure Tokka, with some Kataang and Maiko. I plan this story to be a least a dozen chapters, although hopefully not as long as this one..._**

**Thanks for reading this and on with the story!**

_Chapter 1: Search of the soul mate_

Aang was soaring on his glider through the black and white skies of the South Pole. The moon was a silver disk in the night, the stars dancing around it to enlighten the frozen landscape. He had been flying for a while now, searching for his best friend. It was just so unlike Sokka to disappear this way, especially when he and Katara came to visit...

He and his former waterbending master had been living a wonderful love story since the end of the war, 6 years ago. They were now travelling the world, working hard to restore peace between the four nations. Sokka, for his part, was giving his all to make the Southern Water Tribe great: as the future chief of the tribe and one of the four saviours of the world, he participated actively in the establishment of new commercial and cultural relations between his home and the North Pole.

All this didn't leave them a lot of time to visit one another, but they reunited as soon as they had a chance. This time around, the Avatar and his girlfriend were only passing by for a short day and night, and they were leaving in the morning. Which was why the young man had been confused when the water tribe warrior had excused himself in the middle of the evening, not returning for a good couple of hours.

Suddenly, Aang spotted a blue fleck against the ghostly white snow, and he knew he'd found him. Sokka was sitting at the edge of the glacier, lost in the contemplation of the moon. The young warrior had changed during the past years, physically and mentally: his was taller, his torso, shoulders and arms were strongly built with powerful muscles and, although he still was somewhat boyish, he had matured a great deal.

However, Aang thought sadly as he landed next to his moon gazing friend, some things would never change...

- "Hey Sokka", Aang greeted the 22 year-old man as he sat beside him on the snow.

Aang's surreptitious approach startled the daydreaming sword master, who instinctively seized the sword that never left his side; he grunted when he recognize his Airbending friend, letting go of his weapon and shifting his gaze back to the moon.

A little vexed by his attitude, but overall worried for his friend's well-being, the avatar asked:

- "What's going on, Sokka? You seem a little... down these days. I thought our visit would cheer you up?"

- "I'm happy you guys came," he said with a small smile, his azure eyes still fixed on the moon, "but," he added with a shrug, "I sort of feel the need to be alone. I have to... think."

- "Do you want me to leave, then?"

- "Well, no offense, but that would be nice of you... actually," he suddenly tacked on as an afterthought, finally turning to look at the avatar, "could you stay for a while? I need to talk."

- "Sure," Aang said, happy and relieved that he could so something to help his friend. "So, what's eating you?"

- "Ok, first of all, you've got to promise not to tell Katara _anything_: I'm not in the mood for one of her 'don't-be-afraid-to-express-your-feelings' speech, got it?"

Aang smiled knowingly and nodded, urging the young man to continue.

- "So well... uh," Sokka began awkwardly, "you know that, lately, my romantic life hasn't been very, uh...fulfilling. Since I broke up with Suki two years ago, I've basically concentrated on my duty towards my people, y'a know... rebuilding the South Tribe, preparing to take my father's place as the chief, and so on. I didn't have any girlfriends, not even a date once in a while... nothing."

- "Do you regret leaving Suki?" The avatar inquired softly.

- "No," Sokka answered without hesitation and with a certainty that reassured his companion. "Leaving her was the right decision, for both of us. Were friends now, we see each other from time to time... she even has a boyfriend and she really likes him, although he isn't as hilarious as me..." he laughed briefly, not a trace of jealousy or resentment in his voice. But then he added more gravely: "that's not it."

- "Then..." Aang began slowly, "is it that you're worried that you... don't have as much success with the ladies then before?"

- "Are you kidding me?" He snickered. "They're all over me!" (Oddly, the airbender noticed, it didn't seem to please him at all). "Seriously, I'm probably one of the most wanted guys of the Water Tribe: after all, am I not the future chief of the Southern Water Tribe and a reputed war hero? I go somewhere and all the young woman of the place gather up around me: you know what it's like. Being the avatar, you probably attract more of them then I do!"

- "Yeah," the said avatar grinned, "I do know what you're talking about... Katara doesn't like it very much," he added with a grimace.

- "Trust my sister to be jealous one! Anyway, without any false pretence, I can say that making myself a girlfriend would be an easy thing. Heck, I could even go on dates with a different girl every night if I wanted to!" He exclaimed bitterly.

- "So what's the problem, then?" Aang demanded, even if he already suspected what the answer would be.

- "The problem, my dear friend, is I don't _want _to have a different girlfriend every night... I know am supposed to be sensible to pretty girls and be the unstoppable seducer" (Aang rolled his eyes) "but..."

- "But?" The air nomad prodded him.

- "But since I broke up with Suki, that's not so much the case anymore. I guess you could put it off as being an effect of loosing or nearly loosing the two loves of my life, unless it's just what happens when you get older but... I sort of made up my mind to stop dating or having girlfriends altogether."

- "Stop dating? No more girlfriends?" Aang repeated in shock. "Sokka, you alright?"

- "I'm fine," the young warrior sighed. "I didn't mean that I was drawing a cross on love or anything... just that I've decided to take it more seriously. I don't want to just develop a relationship with a girl because I like her or she's awesomely cute or something... I want it to be deeper than that. I want it to last. Seeing you and Katara, Zuko and Mai... it made me think. You guys have been together for years, and you're all so happy and fulfilled... they're solid, profound relationships that survived a lot of difficulties and that are leading _somewhere. _You're made for one another, anyone can see that. And I, well... I don't have anyone special. There are tones of girls out there but, when they look at me, all they see is this... _war icon_. They would gladly go out with me, but I don't think any of them would consider _marriage..._and those who _do_ only think of becoming the next Southern Water Tribe queen!"

- "I would like to tell you that I understand how you feel," Aang sympathized, "but, me and Katara... it was just so sudden... it happened just like that, by enchantment..."

- "Exactly!" Sokka exclaimed, "that's my point! You and Katara were _destined _for one another; so were Zuko and Mai. She woke you up from that iceberg after a hundred years of hibernation and Bam! Love at first sight!"

- "Actually, it was a little more complicated than that..."

- "And Zuko and Mai , they grew up together, they've been in love since they were like, three!"

- "Let's not exaggerate anything..."

- "I'm not exaggerating! You never loved anyone else than my sister, and Zuko never loved anyone else than the duke's daughter; same goes for Katara and Mai. You never loved anyone else, because you were _meant to be. _So it makes me wonder: what about me? Who I'm _I _destined to be with? I don't want another girlfriend Aang: I want a soul mate, a person to marry and share the rest of my life with!"

For a second, Aang remained silent. He felt bad for Sokka. He tried to imagine how he would feel in his friend's place: no Katara, just a bunch of girls that 'loved' him for his reputation and social rank rather than for himself. He thanked the spirits that they had led him to the beautiful waterbender.

- "I think," he finally answered, "that you just have to be patient: true love doesn't always strike as easily as it did for Zuko, Mai, Katara and me. You can't expect the spirits to always guide you to the person your destined to be with with lightening and mystical signs! You'll find her in your right time, I'm sure."

- "So you're saying I should just wait to stumble across Mrs Right?"

- "Yeah, that's how it usually works."

- "Problem is, I don't have _time _to wait for her to show up."

- "Why not?"

- "I know I look awfully young," he said in pitiful attempt at joking, "but I'm already 22. In the Water Tribe, that's the marrying age for boys. Which means I'm expected to take a wife pretty soon. Since I'm the heir to the Southern Tribe 'throne', so to speak, and that I have quite a few responsibilities, I may be able to put off the marriage until another couple of years, but that's it. Past that limit, I'm getting married, like it or not. Or rather, whether I've found _her_ or not. My dad and I had a conversation on the topic on my 22 birthday. He told me that I didn't have to find a wife within the year like I normally should, but that I should seriously start looking for one."

- "That's...well, this sucks."

- "You can say that again!"

The water tribe man paused, his eyes returning to the moon, and his heart tightened once more.

- "You know..." he began slowly, "I wouldn't be so anxious if... if I wasn't afraid that..."

- "Afraid that?"

Sokka took a deep breath, and then voiced the fear that had been consuming him for the past few weeks:

- "Afraid that I already met that girl I was supposed to love, and lost her..."

He was staring intently at the moon, and all of a sudden Aang understood:

- "Yue," he murmured

- "Yes," the young warrior agreed, "Yue. Aang, what if it was her? What if I missed out on love altogether because she died?"

- "Do you still love her?" The young avatar asked carefully, not wanting to cause Sokka unnecessary pain. He had thought that his friend had gotten over Yue years ago.

- "No, I don't have those kinds of feelings for her anymore." Just like when he had said he didn't miss Suki, his voice was serene and certain. There was worry though, as he continued: "but I can't help asking myself, _what if it was her? _She was my first love..."

- "But she wasn't the one," the airbender declared firmly.

Sokka was surprised by this statement, but not as much as Aang himself. How could he say something like this? And why was he so sure he had spoken the truth?

_Because, _a little voice whispered at the back of his mind, _you know who Sokka's soul mate truly is. And it isn't Yue. You were always very good at sensing the bonds that unite people. You talk with the spirits, you can tell things and see things that other people can't. And you've known what you know for years, ever since you saw them together for the first time..._

In the avatar's mind, everything suddenly clicked into place.

Why hadn't he realized this before? Yet, now that he thought about it, it seemed ridiculously obvious.

And yes, it was true, he'd sensed the perfect chemistry and complementarities between the two the moment he had first witnessed them having a fight.

And Sokka was just... oblivious.

Completely, ironically _blind._

- "What do you mean, _she wasn't the one? _How can you be so sure about it?"

- "I know it, that's all," the airbender stated calmly. "I can tell those sorts of things, with my being the avatar. If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much: just... go on with your life. You'll find her soon enough."

- "Y'a know Aang, you're a good friend, but sometimes your avatar stuff freak me out..."

- "One last thing, lover boy," he smirked, suddenly inspired: "keep in mind that love is blind."

_- "Love is blind_? What's that supposed to mean? And how is it gonna help me?"

- "Just remember it, that's all..."

- "You're not making any sense!"

- "Those proverbs usually don't make sense until they are actually put into context."

- "Oh, that helps a lot! So I guess when I will finally find her, this wonderful sentence will make sense?"

Aang tried as hard as he could, but in the end, he couldn't fight the smile that spread unto his face.

- "Like I said before..." Sokka sighed dramatically, "you're a great friend, avatar and, may I add, a good listener, but sometimes you freak me out... not to mention you're excessively annoying!"

- "My pleasure, dear friend, my pleasure..."

They both laughed and, while they got up to return to the village, the last air nomad thought with fervent hope:

_Love is blind... I really wish that, eventually, he'll get it._


	2. Chapter Two : Makeup, Ice and Earth

_**Hello everyone! Im back with the second chapter of **_**Love is blind _and_, _as it turns out, its even longer the first one... I really have trouble writting short texts. I hope you all like this chapter, because so far it is my favorite (which isnt saying much since it is only my second). Anyway, Id like to give special thanks to the reader who added me on his favorite story list and the other person who put me on his story alert... thank you so much! Being a new author, it means the world to me! To the rest of you, Im very thankful that you are reading this... What would make me even more thankful would be if you left reviews, just so I know you have read. Constructive comments are also very welcome (if you find any mistakes, please point them out, it will really help me!)._**

**_Once again, thank you! Hope you will enjoy this!_**

_Chapter two : Makeup, Ice and earth_

Toph hated makeup. She hated the slick, bitter 'red' paint she used to outline her lips (whatever 'outlining' meant...), the powdery 'blue' eye shadow she carefully dabbed onto her eye lids and the sticky, intoxicating 'white' substance she had to smear all over her face to make it look 'tastefully pale'. She had been told that adding extra 'color' to her face helped bring out her traits. Everyone seemed to agree that makeup made a girl more beautiful.

As if being 'beautiful' meant anything to her.

The only thing she hated more than the makeup was the _dress_: the horrid, tight, insufferable dress. 'Green', her mother had said, to match your eyes. _Right. _Why not a live-size porcelain doll to _match_ her own expectations, while she was at it? Than maybe, just _maybe_ she'd get off her daughter's case.

And then there were the shoes.

She didn't hate them.

She only wished to kick them off, smash their fragile, stupid _wooden _soles between a pair of boulders and bury them deep, deep into the ground, never to be found again.

Only she couldn't, because she had promised herself to be nice.

For the millionth time in the last four years, she gave herself a well-deserved mental punch and made a note not to ever, ever promise anything to herself again.

The war had been over for six years. Six years since her great adventure with the Gaang. Six years since she'd helped save the world. Six years since she'd become one of the biggest war heroes in history.

The first two years had passed all too fast: right after the ceremony that had made Zuko the new Fire Lord, she'd escaped to the South Pole with Sokka. What else could she have done? Aang had a lot of Avatar duties to perform and Katara followed him wherever he went: the true nature of the relationship between Twinkletoes and Sweetness couldn't have been any more obvious. Not only didn't she want to hang around the two lovebirds (the vibrations sent to the ground by the frantic pounding of their hearts whenever they were together nearly drove her insane), but most of Aang's tasks involved staying within the Earth Kingdom. And as long as she stayed on Earth Kingdom land... she was at her parents mercy. Now that her existence had been revealed to the world, they wouldn't have hesitated to send every spare Earth Kingdom soldier at her research and the King himself would have been warned of her disappearance... she couldn't have escaped long.

She had considered staying at the Fire nation royal palace with Zuko, but had decided against it: she liked Sparky, but she just hated royalty and palaces and everything that reminded her the slightest bit of her pampered childhood in Gaoling.

So she'd followed Sokka (who had been more than happy to bring her along) all the way to the most inappropriate place in the world for a blind earthbender like her.

The South Pole.

The frozen, snow covered, _blinding_ South Pole.

And, surprisingly, it had been the best two years of her life.

In the beginning though, it was pure hell : she couldn't see more than two steps ahead of her, couldn't distinguish anyone's body unless they were right up in her face and earthbending in these conditions was nearly impossible. It was cold, there was this stupid damp thing called _snow _everywhere and she constantly slipped on patches of another of the universe's idiotic inventions: ice, which she had once encountered in the Serpent's Pass, a memory she would be more than happy to forget.

But _he _was there and, although he was very busy rebuilding his home tribe, he still found the time to be by her side. Whenever she tripped, he somehow appeared out of thin air (at least, that's what it felt like to her, since she couldn't sense vibrations on ice) to catch her, and whenever she got lost, he would be there to take her hand and guide her back to safety. He never complained when she gripped his arm, making a habit of following him everywhere he went (because dammit, staying in Gran-Gran's hut all day was just too boring; she needed action!). No matter how occupied he was and how much trouble she go into, he was always there for her.

In the middle of these vast, icy, invisible plains, he became her rock, her earth, the one she could hold on to, the one that gave her stability and comfort. His strong arms were more solid than a boulder, his skin was warmer than any ground she'd walked on and his voice was more soothing to her than the feeling of the soft soil seeping between her toes...even his steady heartbeat kept in time with the rhythm of the Earth's pulse.

And, somehow, sometime during the coldest yet most peaceful period of her life, she and Sokka had wound up becoming more than plain friends.

They had become the BEST friends the world had ever seen.

So, things weren't too bad at the South Pole, and they suddenly began to go amazingly well when she finally figured it out.

Faced with blindness, she had learned to earthbend. Faced with her imprisonment in a metal box, she had learned to metalbend. Faced with snow...she had learned to see _beneath_ the snow.

Facts were, under the kilometre thick layers of snow and ice that constituted the ground of the South Pole, there was _earth. _Or, to be more precise, a very hard type of rock. This rock was deeply connected with the ice and snow above it, and it was shaped by it. The glaciers, under the effect of their own gravity, slowly slid onto the rock, scraping it. This wide-scale movement generated incredible vibrations that could be perceived even through the ice... granted you were sensible enough to feel the subtle emulations. And, if someone could feel them, it was definitely Toph. It took her over two months of daily trips on the outskirts of the village (as well as a pair of winter boots with metal soles Sokka had made especially for her) to learn to 'sense' the earth, but in the end she could distinguish the landscape in great detail, even the ice cliffs and the village's huts. By stomping her foot on the ground, she could draw clear vibrations from the rock hidden under the ice, and therefore regain the integrity of her sight for short moments. Of course, subtler things such as the perception of heartbeats, breathing and temperature were lost to her vision, but she could tell the presence of other people and see their movements clearly enough to function normally. Needless to say, it was a great relief for her to have her sight back and it made her life at the South Pole nearly (it _was_ cold, and she still couldn't earthbend) perfect.

Even more so because, despite the return of her vision, Sokka and her remained inseparable.

Not too long after she had reconnected with the earth, she suddenly felt it begin to shift under her feet, slowly at first, than more rapidly, until she felt the walls she had hid behind her entire life begin to crumble and her feelings spin wildly out of control and into the air, were she could no longer bury them at the bottom of her heart.

During those two years, her small crush for the Water Tribe boy morphed into something much more profound: she fell in love with Sokka. SOKKA, warrior of the Water Tribe, Sword Master and the biggest idiot she'd ever met. Sokka, Snoozles, Meathead, Ponytail, Boomerang... you name it! Sokka, her best friend, the only person that understood her, that had witnessed her greatest moments of weakness and had walked away from it in one piece. Sokka, who was four years older than her, _Suki_'s _boyfriend_.

Sokka, the most caring, resourceful, funny, sarcastic and meat addicted person she'd ever met.

Sokka, her rock, her earth, her _home. _

And letting herself fall in love with him had been the most ridiculous, stupid and painful thing she'd ever done.

Even more ridiculous, stupid and painful than coming back here four years ago, despite the fact she had promised herself never to return (she definitely had to learn to keep the right promises).

The two years at the South Pole with Sokka had passed in the blink of an eye, and then it was over. Sokka was called by the Northern Water Tribe King to help restore relations between them and the South Pole, and he simply couldn't refuse. She would have followed him, but in the same moment, Aang had arrived with a letter from her parents. They had spent two years searching for her everywhere in the Earth Kingdom before pleading the Avatar (who, to Toph's demand, had kept his mouth shut when they'd asked exactly where she was) to bring their daughter a message : they were begging her to come home to Gaoling. The loss of their daughter was a tragic event, and they missed her greatly. They wanted her back in her true place, as the rightful (and only) inheritor of the Bei Fong estate, and for that they were ready to reconsider the rules that had directed her childhood. They promised she could earthbend and have more freedom. After much deliberation and discussions with Sokka (he was happy for her if she could reconnect with her family, but he sure as hell was going to miss her) she'd decided to give them a chance.

So now, there she was, trying to pass as the perfect noble lady. She hated to admit it, but she was pretty good at it. Even if her true self had been revealed years ago, her childhood of pretending had paid off. She was irreproachable in her manners and stature, graceful and polite as should be. She'd even learned to dress and fix her makeup and hair herself (_anything_ to avoid having her mother dress her like a doll): she memorized the shape and size of the different makeup containers and the 'color' of their contents, the different combs to place in her hair, all her different robes... she also knew the form of her face by heart, where exactly to apply the lip stick and eye shadow and all the other crap. She'd memorized each 'color', each outfit: 'blue' dress goes with 'blue' shoes, 'red' comb matches 'red' tunic, and so on. And whenever she had a moment to herself, she would gladly strip off all the junk and put on her good ol' travelling clothes to go earthbending outside or at the arena (she totally _ruled_ Earth Rumble VI).

Unfortunately, that wasn't possible today.

She was just finishing fixing her hair when she heard the servant walk down the hallway to her room, and she turned as the discreet woman creaked open her door. Even with her shoes on, she could sense the servant's surprise as she discovered the young mistress calmly waiting for her as if she'd expected her entrance. Aside from her friends, no one the young earthbender encountered understood her sight: they either saw her as a terrifying earthbending prodigy that could somehow miraculously sense their attacks or the freaky blind girl that could tell things she shouldn't be able to know. She knew for a fact that this particular servant looked at her as an abnormal, frightening phenomenon, the kind you'd see at the circus under the title of _The ultra-sensible blind freak. _It amused her... and pained her.

Right now, what amused her was the servant's awkward bow (the soles of her shoes blurred her vision considerably, but she could still roughly see the servant since she wasn't too far from her) as she muttered apologies for disturbing her while she was preparing. When the blind young woman summoned her to "quit beating around the bush" she straightened and stuttered:

"Your suitor has arrived, mistress."

Toph cringed inwardly at her words: _yep, the reason I've spent all morning locked up in my room to prepare has finally arrived. It'd better be worth it this time...unlike the 15 other times._

"So", she said casually, "what is he like?" _Not that I care,_ she thought bitterly. _This is just a waste of time._

"Well, mistress, he is very handsome," the servant began hesitantly before gaining in confidence. "He has long dark hair and the most enchanting blue eyes..."

Toph just smirked and crossed her arms, causing the servant to stop mid-sentence as she realized her mistake. The blind earthbender couldn't see it, but she knew the woman was blushing mad.

"I-I'm so sorry, mistress. I-I don't know... what I was thinking..."

"You weren't thinking, apparently," Toph mocked her, enjoying it far too much. "You should know looks can be deceiving: it is shame for you to give such importance to something so... superficial."

"Absolutely, mistress! The woman agreed rapidly, attempting miserably to make up for her blunder. But, as... unimportant as appearances are... May I still remark that the mistress looks stunning today?"

"Do I?" Toph inquired, an ironic expression on her face. "Well, thank you very much, my dear."

_And stop pretending I'm pretty: the flattery act grows old fast. I'm not an idiot, and I don't need to see to know I'm anything but beautiful. Makeup and fancy dresses don't change anything._

Had she not had her shoes on, she could have sensed that, in spite of the servant's desperate desire to enter her good graces, she wasn't lying.

Slightly reassured that the young mistress wasn't going to bury her to the waist in the floor (it had already happened once to one of the former servants, or so she'd heard) she continued:

"The young mistress's mother, Lady Poppy, wants her in the grand hall immediately. She says that the mistress's visitor has made a long trip to come here and that he refuses to rest until he's seen his fiancé-to-be. It would be improper for the young mistress to keep him waiting any longer."

"Very well," Toph sighed heavily. I'm coming."

"Oh, and by the way: her mother insists that the young mistress should make an effort to look her future husband in the eye as much as possible. She considers her way of keeping her gaze to the ground very inappropriate for the present occasion."

Toph was about to retort "that the young mistress was to look were she pleased" (because there was only _one _person in the world that she wanted to look in the eye, although she would keep this to herself), when suddenly realization dawned upon her:

"Wait a minute," she growled at the servant in a low, menacing voice. "Are you telling me that this man doesn't know I'm blind?"

The older woman froze, stuttering feebly:

"O-of course n-not! W-why would the young mistress imagine such a thing?"

Toph stomped her foot on the ground violently, causing the floor to shake and the servant to shriek in fear.

"You're lying!" she shouted before dropping to a composed, ice cold tone. "And I bet they didn't tell him I earthbended either? He probably doesn't know I'm the same Toph that helped the avatar save the world, does he? They let him believe I was a perfectly normal, perfectly correct high society young lady, didn't they? Answer me!" she shouted again, emphasising her demand by sending a few pebbles she'd brought from outside in the servant's direction.

The woman's only answer was an almost inaudible whimper.

" Tell my mother," Toph said in the same controlled, refrigerating voice as before, "that the young mistress left the house for a few days and that she is not returning until this man is told the _entire_ truth or that he's gone. Also, let her know that if she tries marrying me to a man that doesn't accept me for who I truly am ever again, I'll leave. Definitely. You may now go."

The servant quickly closed the door behind her as she retreated, and as soon as she was gone Toph kicked her shoes off angrily.

Ten minutes later, she was jumping out her window and running toward the arena, barefoot and wearing her travelling clothes, the makeup and dress long forgotten.


	3. Chapter Three : Letter

_**On with chapter 3! I wrote this in less than a day, and I sort of like it, although some explanations are little to long in my opinion. But anyway : hope you'll like it! Note that this takes place one month after chapter 1 and 2. **_

**_Oh yeah, right : I totally forgot the disclaimer for the first two chapters, so here it is... hope nobody will sue me!_**

**_Disclaimer : I don't own Avatar-The Last Airbender. If I did, this story wouldn't be a fic but the first episodes of season four. _**

_Chapter Three: Letter _

The small ship arrived in the South Pole's bay around noon.

It was a ridiculously small boat, dark green and with the Earth Kingdom insignia printed on its sail. The kind of ship that had completely disappeared from the seas a hundred years ago.

Now that the war was over, they were slowly returning, re-establishing communication around the world. Messages, letters and goods could circulate freely from a nation to another on those small merchant ships that had, a little more than a century ago, insured wealth to the Earth Kingdom. It was although very rare for such ships to reach the South Pole, and when they did come, it was always to transmit important political messages from the Earth Kingdom, North Pole or Fire Nation to the Southern Water Tribe's chiefs, Hakoda and Sokka.

Important political messages, crucial information on the situation around the world and the steps made toward balance and peace... or at least, most of the time.

Because, once a month, something infinitely more important arrived on those ships, something Sokka awaited to receive with incredible impatience.

Something that always brought him a smile that lasted for days.

Something that eased the constant pain in his chest, the one that had been there for four years and whose existence he denied, although to everyone else it was beyond obvious.

Sokka had spent the entire morning training outside the village with Katara and Aang, his sister manipulating the snowy terrain against him and his friend alternating between icy gusts of air and a variety of water-related attacks. The young warrior twirled with surprising grace in the middle of the turmoil of elements, avoiding and deviating blows with practised movements of his sword and countering attacks with the force and precision that only belonged to great masters. Of course, his two comrades where going easy on him, as even a master bender wouldn't be able to so much as threaten the waterbender and avatar separately, let alone together. But those battle simulations were excellent to form the sword master's reflexes, agility and wits. They also allowed Katara and Aang to hone their own skills, as none of them knew for sure if peace would last in the world and when they would have to fight for their lives and for the universe again. Not to mention, if the non-bending Sokka didn't stand a chance against the fury of the elements, he was basically unbeatable for whoever didn't master them.

In the past six years, he'd become as sharp, versatile and deadly as his sword.

One of the greatest sword masters and warriors the world had ever known.

He didn't boast however, something he would've certainly done when he was only nothing more than an obnoxious, sarcastic, yet caring, ingenious and insanely brave sixteen-year-old. With the new skills and extra muscles had come an uncharacteristic humility and almost unfaltering confidence and optimism.

_Almost_ unfaltering.

He had also proved to be a born leader, the simple idea guy growing into the fine strategist that had helped repress so many rebellions in the Fire Nation. He also had a lot of ambition for the South Pole and promised to make a great leader for his home tribe. Yet, for himself, he only seemed to want to lead a simple life, accomplishing his duty as leader and right hand man of the Avatar and Fire Lord the best he could, his heart seeking peace...

...and above all, seeking love.

He ducked as a water whip passed swiftly over his head, rolling onto his side to avoid the small but powerful spiral of wind Aang had sent his way. With a few fluid parades of his sword, he destroyed the dozen ice daggers his sister threw him, managing to touch her left shoulder lightly with the tip of his sword, therefore winning the battle against the waterbender. The water tentacles she'd begun to create around her phased back into snow, gently falling to the ground at their feet. Katara congratulated her brother with a warm smile and Aang descended (or rather drifted) from the ice cliff he'd perched himself on to put a hand on his shoulder. Sokka grinned happily, wiping the sweat on his forehead with one hand and sheathing his sword.

That's when Katara, turning in the direction of the village, spotted the Earth Kingdom Ship in the bay. She signalled its presence to Aang and her brother enthusiastically, but was still slightly confused when Sokka took off without warning, half running and half sliding down the moor towards the port.

- "What's up with him?" the young woman asked her boyfriend, one eyebrow cocked in curiosity.

The Avatar grinned mysteriously, eyes shinning as he wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's waist, kissing her tenderly before answering:

- "I'd say he's got mail".

By the time Aang and Katara reached Gran-Gran's hut, Sokka was already seated by the fire, repeatedly hitting something on the ground before him with his machete. It was a block of dried clay, about the size of a small trunk but unusually light, with his name carved on it. An identical block was set on the table in the corner, making Katara beam as she urged Aang to earthbend it open. Meanwhile, the water tribe warrior managed to break open his own block, pulling out the stone tablet it had been concealing; it was covered in writing, carved deeply on its surface with a perfection that clearly spoke of the identity of the message's author. Sokka's heart lifted in his chest, his mouth breaking in an insanely happy grin as he held Toph's version of a letter.

When Toph was living with him at the South Pole, she'd once complained that she couldn't read the letters Aang and Katara sent them continuously while they were gone on their 'restore-balance-and-peace-to-the-world-after-the-war' mission. Being as dense as ever, he'd brushed it off, saying there was no problem at all since he was there to read them for her. He'd learned that day that, when Toph complained about something, it'd better be taken seriously. She'd flung a fire rock to his head, scathingly retorting that she "wanted to do it for herself" and that he "wouldn't always be there to read to her like a mother read bedtime stories to her kids". And, what if one day she received something private? She didn't want the meathead stuffing his nose in her business.

That's when he got another of his brilliant ideas, the type that had earned him the title of 'Idea Guy'.

Toph couldn't read what was written on paper... but what about what was _carved in stone_?

She couldn't write with ink and a pen...but she could carve words in the stone with _earthbending_, couldn't she?

That had been the beginning of a long year of efforts and patience teaching Toph how to read and write with earthbending.

But it was well worth it.

She was a surprisingly good student, putting as much effort in learning the different symbols Sokka traced in a small patch of earth in the center of Gran-Gran's hut (earth which had to be imported from Kyoshi Island with Suki's help) as she had mastering earthbending. It wasn't so much that she enjoyed writing and reading (she wasn't the intellectual type, and kept repeating that "words were better spoken aloud then written down") but she was determined to prove everyone that she could do absolutely _anything, _even read and write.

It took a lot of patience and creativity on Sokka's part, but in the end, she became rather good at it.

Meanwhile, he'd learned to carve stone with a pick and hammer (his artistic talents had greatly improved, thank the spirits, although his carvings were much less neater than her perfect, earthbended symbols).

And then she'd returned to the Earth Kingdom, and both were more than happy that they had a way of communicating.

During four years, they wrote to each other about once or twice every month (they would have written more, but a month was what it took for the Earth Kingdom boats to travel all the way to the South or North Pole or Fire Nation, depending on where Sokka was). No matter where he was or what he was doing (he kept going to and fro from the North Pole to the South Pole to the Fire Nation, on diverse political and/or war missions) he waited for each one of these letters like his life depended on it, and it helped him survive the fact that he was away from his best friend.

It had been four years since he'd last seen her in person.

Since they spent most of their time in the Earth Kingdom, Aang and Katara got to visit the young earthbender frequently, and Sokka kept wishing he was that lucky. After Toph had gone back to Gaoling, he'd been stuck at the Northern Water Tribe for a year: being the ambassador of the Southern Tribe, he'd occupied such an important position he couldn't have left it for even a day, let alone a three weeks trip to the Earth Kingdom.

The next two years he'd spent in the Fire Nation, helping Zuko repress the rebellions that had erupted everywhere on the territory. The situation being critical and he being in charge of the Fire Nation imperial forces, he had more than his fair share of responsabilities. He'd also become the mediator of the fragile alliance between the Water Tribes and Fire Nation on Zuko's and Hakoda's demand. All in all, he hardly could've abandoned his duties to visit Toph.

The last year had been the hardest: he missed Toph like crazy, more then he'd ever thought possible, but new responsabilities had kept him imprisoned at the South Pole, his father having judged that it was time for him to begin taking the lead of the Tribe. As a result, the constant letters he and the Blind Bandit exchanged and the news he regularly received from Aang and Katara were all he had to stay in touch with his best friend.

Of course, he'd pleaded her time and time again to come visit _him_. But the little blind girl had obligations of her own in her home nation: she was one of the Earth King's privileged advisors, although she operated from a distance, her parents insisting that she remained home. She was also the earthbending teacher of the newly restored Dai Li, the agents travelling all the way to Gaoling every other month to receive her particular training. Those activities, however, where done in secrecy: Toph's parents refused that she become a war figure, and she herself didn't want the glory (Aang suffered a lot from being watched by the entire world every minute of his life, and she had always hated to draw unnecessary attention to herself. As if it weren't enough, most people didn't seem capable to see beyond her tiny figure and blindness and consider her as the hero and powerful bender she was, preferring to regard her as an abnormal phenomenon). Anyway, her parent's approval was more important to her than celebrity.

But Sokka could be very insightful when he wanted to (in contrast to his usual obliviousness), and in spite of her denial, he knew full well that, if she didn't come to visit him, it was mostly because her parents refused that she left Gaoling. Of course, her parents' opinion had never stopped her from doing what she wanted before, but in the last four years, pleasing them seemed to have become her major goal. She made a lot of efforts to be the daughter they'd always wanted but, according to her letters, they were never satisfied. Still, she tried, even though she clearly resented them and was (she'd never admit it, but he knew her so well he could tell just by reading what she wrote) unhappy in her current life. Now, why she would rather avoid displeasing parents she had a hard time loving then visit her best friend, he couldn't decipher.

Little did he know, Toph was deliberately putting a distance between them in a desperate and painful attempt of getting over her impossible love for him.

The letter was short, but it warmed Sokka's insides like nothing else could:

_Hey Snoozles,_

_What's up? Still alive from your last tournament with Sugar Queen and Twinkletoes? Really, you should stop measuring yourself against the two second greatest (I being the first, obviously!) benders in the world; it isn't healthy for a guy's self-esteem if he loses too often! Trust my experience: in my years of competing in Earth Rumble 5, I've seen quite a lot of men fall into depression after getting beaten by a 'little' blind girl. _

He could almost hear her laugh, and he laughed himself as he read on:

_Anyway, to answer your question, yes, I'm still training the Dai Li, although we have to remain very discreet. They are making progress but...they're not anywhere near my level! As for metalbending... I'm still hesitating to teach them this technique. I like being the only metalbender in the world, and since even Aang wasn't able to do it when I tried teaching him, I doubt they'll do any better. _

_The Earth King still relies on my advice for the rebuilding of the region of Omashu. It's a very delicate task, seeing that most of the former inhabitants have fled the country during the war and hesitate to come back (can't blame them: the place is very creepy and nearly deserted, or so I was told). There are also all kinds of rumours about a strange epidemic that emptied Omashu during the war: a disease called "Panda-pox" or something (what the heck?). Got any ideas, oh great Idea Guy?_

For a minute, the Water Tribe man had to stop reading, his vision blurred by tears of laughter. He would have to tell Toph what the so-called epidemic truly was: that is, a brilliant plan of his to help the citizens of Omashu escape the Fire Nation. Katara and Aang looked at him questioningly while he nearly rolled onto his side with laughter, before returning to the reading of the letter the earthbender had sent them.

_Apart from that, I fought with my mother. Again._

Sokka's smile disappeared, replaced by a concerned frown.

_I left the house a couple of days, but now I'm back. As always. I know what you're thinking: why don't I just leave for good or, in the least, stay with you at the South Pole for a few weeks? My answer, dear Boomerang, is the same as ever: I can't spend my life running away from my family and denying my heritage, so I'll have to make it work out with 'mommy' and 'daddy'. And escaping with you to the other side of the world again is not the best way to do that. Sorry._

_I hope to 'see' you eventually (hehe,you get it?). I miss not being able to punch you._

_Take advantage or your right arm while it's still healthy (because believe me, you won't be able to even move it once I'm through with you)._

_Lots of punches to the arm, Toph._

Sokka sighed, his heart suddenly clenching in pain. How he missed her! How he whished for her small but determined voice, her mischievous grin and wide, shinning green eyes... even her punches! How he wanted to just sit there beside her, talking about nothing in particular, or simply waiting for the satisfying cry of surprise of the person they'd just pulled a prank on! How he yearned to be outside, walking with her around the village with her petite yet strong hands cutting the circulation of his arm...

Lost in his nostalgic thoughts, he didn't notice the Avatar and his sister casting worried glances in his direction and whispering amongst them.

- "Look", Katara breathed urgently in Aang's ear. "He's doing it again! Laughing his head off one minute and then becoming all lost in thought and depressed the next. What's wrong with him? He does that every time he receives a letter from her!"

- "Isn't it obvious?" the airbender whispered back. "He misses her like crazy!"

- "But why? I mean, sure they're best friends and all, but this is coming out of hand : he acts like he's being separated from his girlfriend or something!"

The last air nomad looked at his hands, which fumbled nervously with his tunic

, trying to hide his sudden unease. Katara was right: Sokka behaved as if he'd been forced away from the love of his life. But he was the only one who knew it wasn't just _as if. _He wondered briefly if he should tell the waterbender what he'd figured out a month ago while talking with her brother in the moonlight: that Toph and Sokka were meant to be, but that neither of them knew. He decided against it: it wasn't his secret to tell. Especially when the two main people involved didn't know the said secret themselves.

- "...and Toph isn't any better!" the water tribe girl continued in a hushed voice. "You remember when we saw her two months ago? She refused to admit it to me when I asked, but she misses him terribly. Remember her reaction when she received that letter from Sokka? I never saw her so happy! And they can't even visit each other! They haven't been together in years! I wish we could help them..." she mused.

- "We could try sparing Sokka some free time so he could go for a visit," the Avatar suggested.

- "And just how would we do that? In a week he has to go to the Fire Nation for a month's time to help consolidate the alliance between the Northern Tribe and Fire Nation. And after that, I'm pretty sure he has to come back here to help build the new Southern Tribe village in the east. He hardly has time for vacations!"

- "That's true," Aang began slowly, an idea progressively forming in his mind. "But... what if someone else went to the Fire Nation in Sokka's place? That would leave him a month's time to visit Toph!"

- "And who exactly could replace the Southern Water Tribe leader-to-be and the Fire Lord's right hand man for such a delicate operation?" she looked at Aang as if telling him to reactivate his brain before speaking anymore nonsense. The young man smiled at her.

- "The Avatar, of course."

- "Aang!" Katara whispered in disbelief. "Have you forgotten that tomorrow you and I are leaving for Ba Sing Se to help the Earth King deal with the Fire Nation rebels who have infiltrated the outskirts of the city? You can't take Sokka's place at the Fire Nation!"

- "The invasion in Ba Sing Se is minor. The Earth King has the Dai Li, he hardly needs anymore from us then some advice on how to deal with the situation. You have lots of experience with the rebels and you know Ba Sing Se. I'm sure you'll do fine without my help."

The waterbender finally seemed to consider what her best friend and lover was telling her. She thought for a moment before answering.

- "This could work... but what will Zuko say?"

Aang shot a glance at Sokka, who was now re-reading Toph's letter with mixture of happiness and sadness on his face. Katara followed his gaze, whishing more than ever to help her brother. The two looked back at each other with a new determination.

- "Zuko will understand," the Avatar murmured. "He'll be more than happy to offer Sokka the chance to reunite with Toph. After all, he's the one who first noticed that he wasn't doing very well. Said he kept talking about Toph, kept asking if he could take some time off to visit her while he was at the Fire Nation. But Zuko couldn't spare him, so he had to refuse. I'm sure he'll be glad to spare him this time."

- "You're right," Katara smiled. "Sokka can fill you in on everything you need to know, and I'm sure the Tribe won't mind being represented by the Avatar this time around."

- "So it's settled, then!" Aang exclaimed a little too loudly.

- "What are two talking about?" Sokka interrupted abruptly. He eyed his friend and sister suspiciously, and he could tell by the looks on their faces that they were up to something.

Katara just giggled, and Aang grinned at him widely before replying:

- "Sokka, how'd you like spending a month in Gaoling?"

_**Yup, that's it for now! How was it? The next chapter should be up soon. And this time, Sokka and Toph will be finally reunited! **_

**_Thanks for reading this, I know it was kind of long and some paragraphs are bunched, but keep in mind that these three first chapters are mainly to set the characters and plot. Next chapter should hold less explaining and more dialogue and action...hopefully._**

**_Please review! _**


	4. Chapter Four : Four Years Past

_**Hey everyone!**_

_**OK. First of all, I'm sorry: I haven't updated in a week. Now that's a pretty bad way to treat your readers, isn't it? Unfortunately, I can't guarantee this will never happen again: my life is at a turning point right now, and a lot of unexpected things are occuring. My mind isn't a hundred percent on writing, sorry. **_

_**Second, I apologize yet again because last chapter, I promised you all that chapter four would reunite Toph and Sokka and that I would give you a break with my neverending explanations and get on with the action and dialogue. As you will soon discover (if you're kind enough to bother reading this) I totally blew my promise. It isn't entirely my fault, though: when I began to write chapter four, I realized that some things still had to be said and that I hadn't described Toph's feelings for Sokka enough. So this is it. And then of course, I just had to add a Sokka point of view. **_

_**So here, you have chapter four. I'm not sure if I like it. Some parts are deliciously fluffy and/or angsty, but others are just too long. Also, I'm pretty certain that I've left a lot of mistakes in there; sorry. **_

_**As always, please, PLEASE review! And if you find any mistakes, please point them out. You have no idea how much it helps!**_

_**Thanks for your patience and thanks for reading. It means the world to me.**_

_**On with the story! **_

_Chapter Four : Four Years Past _

He was coming back.

Four years past, and she was going to see Sokka again.

This was not possible.

The blind earthbender's hands shook and sweat began to accumulate on her brow as she lightly pressed her fingers on the irregular surface of the tablet in her lap.

The vibrations where crystal clear, the words perfectly and deeply carved in the stone. He really put a lot of time and effort in engraving his letters for her, and during the four years they had exchanged this peculiar mail, his artistic talents had significantly improved. Now, decrypting his writing was no longer a strain. Still, it took him a while to carve these messages, and she'd often teased him that, while he had to spend an hour hitting stone with a pick and hammer to write a paragraph, she could write the entire letter with a few flicks of her fingers.

She would never admit it, but she was truly grateful and profoundly touched that he would give himself so much trouble just to keep contact with her. It had been four years since they'd last seen each other, and he still wrote to the little blind girl that had once been his closest friend.

And she very much needed that. She received and read each one of his letters as if it were a life preserver. She needed his lame jokes, pointless ramblings, advices and encouragements as surely as she needed the ground under her feet. She needed to know that he was out there somewhere, and that he sometimes thought of her. She needed to know that he _cared_, as surely as she needed the earth to sustain her.

And she wanted to be there for him too, no matter the distance. In each or the messages he sent her, he put a piece of his soul, a parcel of his heart's deepest desires, fears and uncertainties. Because he trusted her like no one else. Because she understood him.

Because he hoped that one day, she too would let him see her soul.

So many things she'd confided to him while they were still together at the South Pole. So many walls and fears he'd help her take down. So much about herself had she let him discover. So much of her trust did he gain.

Yet, she'd kept from him the only thing that truly mattered.

And now he was coming back.

After four years of impossibly painful absence.

_And for what?_

Just for her to realize that her feelings had persisted, if not intensified, through the years. Now that she was confronted with his eminent return, she could no longer live in denial: despite all her efforts and the force of her will, she couldn't be happy without him.

She loved him.

She couldn't help it.

He was coming back.

How could this be _possible_?

It was all explained in the letter: how Aang and Katara had made everything work out so they could be together. She didn't care about the reasons that had allowed this to happen, nor did she care about the fact that her parents probably wouldn't appreciate the visit. They didn't feel so strongly about the so-called "friends" that had led their "fragile" daughter at the heart of deadly war six years ago. And they positively detested the young "Savage" that had kept her "imprisoned" at the South Pole for two years.

The only thing she cared about was that she was going to be with **Sokka **again.

A turmoil of contradictory emotions raged inside her, unbalancing her like nothing else could. Terror, anxiety and sadness mixed in with joy, impatience and shear happiness. To top it off, there was an impressive amount of anger, aggravation and frustration. How could she be so weak, so helpless? How could she still harbor feelings for a guy that she hadn't seen in years?

Friendship (especially one as powerful and genuine as theirs) could survive time and distance, but love couldn't. Or so she'd thought. The "crush" (she refused to call it love, but she fully knew that's what it was) she had on Sokka was only a silly infatuation that was generated by the warmth of his skin, the gentleness of his voice, the strength of his arms. Maybe she was _physically _attracted to Sokka, but emotionally there was nothing more than sincere affection for her best friend. Away from him, she could get over the feelings. Then, in a few years, when she would be older and her heart would be less fragile, they would reunite and things could finally be right between the two of them.

Or at least, that's what she'd kept telling herself, hoping that one day she could actually believe it.

Had she been honest with herself, she would have avoided the disillusion and faced the fact that all the things she liked in her best friend- from his unique personality to his unbelievable sense of humor and enormous heart- were also the things that made her fall in love with him. Had she not lulled herself with illusions, she could have understood that the emotional and mental attachment-the love- was at the source of the physical yearning.

She hadn't felt his comforting arms around her in four years, yet she still dreamed of them at night.

And when she read the letters he wrote her, she could hear his voice in her mind and feel her heartbeat accelerating.

She was in love with him, I he didn't-and would never- love her back.

That she didn't need to repeat to herself: she knew it without a doubt.

Two years ago, he had broken up with Suki. She had hated herself then, because no matter how much she tried to reason with her heart, she couldn't help but feel happy and hopeful. _Hopeful_. As if it changed anything! He was still four years older than her, she was still his best friend, he still saw her as one of the guys and she still was _blind_… people could adapt to a blind friend, but no guy wanted a blind girl. Let alone a blind girl that could quick his butt. Even if she ran away from home (something she had no intention of doing ever again), even if she stayed with him, even if she admitted her feelings to him…

She wasn't even pretty.

It was hopeless.

He was coming back. _So what?_

Four years past, and nothing had changed.

_**Sokka's POV**_

He was coming back.

Fours years past, and he was going to see Toph again.

He could hardly believe his good fortune: maybe the universe didn't hate him after all.

Aang, being as generous as ever, had giving him a ride on Appa, dropping him and Katara off in Ba Sing Se on his way to the Fire Nation. His sister had stayed in the Earth Kingdom capital while he set off for the small city of Gaoling.

The journey had seemed unbearably long, even if it was only a few days walk. The reason for that was simple: he couldn't wait to see Toph. His nerves had been on end ever since Aang had suggested he went for a visit, and he was so excited he had nearly lost appetite (now that was saying something, considering this was Sokka.) Each step he took was bringing him closer to his best friend, and he couldn't help wondering what he would tell her when he saw her. How would she react to his appearance? Sure, he'd sent her a warning letter and all (with one of those messenger birds they used in the Fire Nation, since ships took over a month to travel from a nation to another and he was planning to arrive in a week' s time. He was just hoping the animal had been able to transport the heavy tablet and that he'd made it to Gaoling without collapsing.), but what if she hadn't received it? Now that he thought about it, that bird had looked kind of frail… Well, he'd see.

But what would he tell her? He felt he didn't possess any words powerful enough to express how much he'd missed her. And she definitely wasn't the type of person who enjoyed sentimental declarations. Probably she'd just punch him on the arm and say he looked good, just to test if he remembered she was blind. He smiled at the idea of the upcoming reunion.

He still was nervous, though.

He was now walking determinedly down the peaceful streets of Gaoling, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. In vain. He heard a couple of girls giggling behind his back, and a group of men whisper at the table of an outdoor teashop. He could almost pick out what was being said around him as he passed: "Is it him?" "_Sokka_ of the Southern Water Tribe? Here? That can't be!" "Wow, did you _see _him? Now _that's _my type of man!" "So handsome… I wonder where his from?" He tuned out the irritating murmurs of the passerby and walked on at a quick pace, head bent so he wouldn't give anyone else the chance to notice him. He wasn't in the mood for attention; although ignoring the woman he passed was getting trickier by the minute.

Under other circumstances, he might have watched them out of the corner of his eye, just to see if any of them was well…different. Special. He normally observed the women he met, searching for a particular eye color, a mysterious face, a distinctive sign… anything that could identify one of them as being the woman of his life.

He'd thought about it a lot since his conversation with Aang more than a month ago, and he'd decided that _she_ (if _she_ even existed) would be special. Not like any other girl he'd met. Not like Suki and Yue. She wouldn't be the charming, gentle, fairy tale type like his two previous girlfriends. If he had been truly meant to marry such a girl, than Suki would have been the logical candidate. But it wasn't her, he was certain of that.

Also, he expected to recognize the one his heart was seeking as soon as they met; love at first sight, or something similar. He also guessed that she wouldn't be Water Tribe: that just seemed too obvious. She wouldn't be a warrior either (too much like Suki). Maybe a bender? Probably a powerful one, since he couldn't imagine marrying an ordinary woman, seeing that all his friends where phenomenons. She'd have to be pretty amazing and have a hell of a strong character to keep up with his insane train of life: not all girls had the nerve to be married to a war legend that befriended all of the world's most important personalities (the Avatar, Fire Lord and greatest Earthbender and Waterbender in history, to only name a few…). Now looking for the ideal wife seemed a desperate cause so far, but he hadn't given up on finding her yet.

Today, however, he only thought of Toph.

It felt strange that he hadn't told her about his search for the perfect bride. He normally told her everything. He couldn't explain it, but each time he'd considered asking her opinion on the subject, or maybe just share his fears and desires with her, an odd and unexplainable sense of foreboding had kept him from doing just so. He couldn't decipher why, but somehow informing her of his approaching marriage felt wrong. Maybe this was just something he couldn't discuss with a girl. The type of thing only another male friend could understand. It wasn't like Toph could give him advice, like Aang had (although his advice had been far from helpful, mind you). But, even then, this wasn't just any girl: this was Toph. He could tell her anything, so why not that?

He couldn't ignore the small voice inside him that whispered it was a bad idea.

He arrived at the Bei Fong's estate in no time, and the gates stood before him, looking as uninviting as ever. He gulped, suddenly at a lost for breath; his heart was thumping so hard in his chest, he bet she could already feel it. Was she somewhere inside the walls, sensing him there, waiting for him? That was more than likely. That girl had incredible senses. Would she be the one to invite him in? He fought the urge to call her name, so impatient to see her face and hear her voice after all this time that he could barely contain himself.

He had waited four years to see her and, abruptly, he couldn't stand waiting a second more.

"Toph!" He yelled through the gates. "Toph, I'm here!"

He was quite surprised (although he should have expected it) when it wasn't his friend but a hostile doorman that answered him:

"Who are you?" The man demanded harshly. He was standing guard near the gates a few feet away from the water tribe man who, in his excitement, hadn't noticed his presence. "And what do you want with the young mistress? She doesn't receive visitors."

"I am an old friend of Toph," Sokka explained with what he whished was a convincing smile. " I came here to see her. She should be expecting me," he added, hoping that was true.

"Name?" The doorman asked suspiciously. Being the experienced warrior he was, Sokka immediately noticed the guard's stance and the hand he kept ready to unsheathe his sword; this man was a fighter, prepared to defend his master's estate. The South Tribe leader-to-be relaxed his own posture, trying to seem as unthreatening as possible. He really didn't want to fight the man, even if he already knew the guard didn't stand a chance against him. However, fighting with the doorman was a sure way to get himself permanently banned from the estate by Toph's parents. They already didn't like him much…

"Sokka", he responded innocently. But the minute he saw the guard's expression, he knew that his reputation had beat him here.

"You're the guy who kidnapped the young mistress four years ago, aren't you?'

"I didn't kidnap her!" Sokka protested indignantly, before suddenly regaining his composure. " I just…"

He stopped mid-sentence, a movement beyond the gates having caught his eye. A delicate silhouette in a dress emerged from the mansion's door behind the guard. For a split second, his heart lurched in his chest, but he rapidly realized it wasn't her. He snorted internally: what was he thinking? Since when did _Toph _wear _dresses_? Anyway, this robe was clearly that of a servant, judging by the simplicity of the design and the absence of jewels and embroidery. The young girl – who was pretty, he had to admit, although she seemed desperately ordinary- gingerly approached the guard, whispering something in his ear through the gate. The man sighed unhappily as the girl retreated, shooting a sideways glance at Sokka, her cheeks slightly flushing. Indifferent as always to the effect he had on ladies, the warrior concentrated his attention on the doorman, who was now apologizing to him reluctantly:

"My apologies, sir Sokka. Amia just informed me that the young mistress is in fact expecting you. She is presently at the arena, training for her next earthbending competition" (Sokka noted the disdain in his voice when he spoke of the 'young mistress'. He clearly disapproved- like all the other imbeciles that surrounded his friend- of the young woman's earthbending. He then decided he profoundly disliked the obtuse doorman.). " You may meet her there".

He then returned to his duty, ignoring the Water Tribe man. Sokka couldn't help but flash him a small, triumphant smile as he left. It had been years (four, to be exact) since he'd allowed himself to behave in such an immature way, and he reveled in the thought that Toph was already influencing him, pushing him to be his old, adolescent self. He practically ran the whole way to the arena, were he expected his best friend was kicking serious butt, a wide grin stamped on his face.

Four years past, and nothing had changed.

_**So, how bad was it? I have no idea when chapter five will be up, but I can guarantee you one thing: this time, Toph and Sokka will be reunited. Can't promise there won't be more explanations, though. Although they will most likely be descriptive paragraphs. **_

_**Thanks for reading... go Tokka! :)**_


	5. Chapter Five : She or The Stare

_**Hi there everyone! I'm terribly sorry I haven't updated in so long, my life has been crazy lately. Anyway, PLEASE forgive me for keeping you waiting so long! I would like to thank everyone of my readers and reviewers: you guys are the ones that motivate me to keep writing! Otherwise, I'd let myself get distracted by other activities... like reading Tokka fanfictions instead of working on my own! Yeah, I know, I suck. Hope you'll like this chapter!**_

_**P.S- In this chapter, I make a description of the Gaoling Arena, but I'm not certain that it is acurate. Also, there may be mistakes in this chapter, because it was written on a long period of time and not always in the best conditions...sorry about that. Finally, the sentences in italics where taken from my previous chapter, in which Sokka speculates on his future wife; **_**she**_** refers to her. **_

_**As always, review! Now on with the story!**_

Chapter Five : She

_He'd decided that __**she**__ would be special._

The arena's doors were locked. In order to open them, Sokka had to use the tip of his sword as an improvised key. As he entered the stone building, the warrior could hear the deafening sound of a ton of rocks smashing against one another. The roar of a rock slide and a cloud of dust and grit filled the air as the Water Tribe man penetrated in the place, finding a seat out of harm's way. When the haze of earth dissipated, he saw the figures of the Dai Li agents moving swiftly all around the ring.

The Dai Li where reputed to be the most dangerous, stealthy and deadly warriors of all time. They were silent, rapid, cold-blooded killing machines that had a way of communicating and fighting in synchronization that made them almost invincible. During the war, the had controlled the legendary Ba Sing Se with Long Fen at their head, and no one had ever managed to stand in their way. Only once had they been beaten… by the Avatar and his friends. It seemed that only the all -powerful Gaang had a prayer of winning against them.

Or maybe just one, particular member of the legendary team.

_**She**__ wouldn't be like any other girl he'd met._

The agents bended at an incredible speed, moving in perfect, threatening harmony, their thin braids and the sleeves of their ample cloaks swinging in response to each of their jumps and turns. They threw their gloves and stones daggers with the lethal precision that characterized them, eyes reduced to slits under the intensity of their concentration.

_**She**_ _wouldn't be a warrior._

At first, Sokka couldn't distinguish their opponents, but the reason for that soon became obvious: they didn't have any opponents. Or rather, their enemy wasn't human.

They where delivering a battle against the earth.

_He guessed __**she**__ wouldn't be Water tribe: that seemed too obvious._

The ground of the ring quivered violently, trembling and deforming in a continuous movement. Pillars of stone rose abruptly before crumbling down, small mountains with sharp edges formed and then disappeared, quick sands menaced to engulfe the men and sand and pebbles flew of their own accord towards their eyes and mouths. The agents used their own earthbending skills and phenomenal agility to avoid the traps of the earth and attempt to stabilize their environment. They also dug in the ground, and peered inside the fissures that formed under their feet, seeming to search for something concealed under the earth.

They were trying to find the person at the source of the turmoil, the only bender in the world capable of controlling such a large terrain of earth in such various ways, with enough skill and power to threaten the entire Dai Li.

Toph.

_**She**__'d probably be a powerful bender. He couldn't imagine marrying an ordinary woman._

Sokka's smile was so wide, he worried that his jaw would dislocate. His friend, the tiny, blind, seemingly helpless girl, was yet again proving the world just how amazing and capable and –let's admit it- dangerous she was. She was the Dai Li's personal coach, just like she'd described in her letters, and she was doing a fantastic job. He watched the show, engrossed like he had once been while watching sword tournaments, which seemed very boring now that he had become a master. Although he very much appreciated the spectacle of his invisible best friend kicking the Dai Li's butt, he truly looked forward to the moment where the training would come to an end and he could finally, FINALLY see Toph.

That moment arrived sooner than he would have ever dared to hope for.

_**She**_'_d have to be pretty amazing and have a hell of a strong character._

The ground of the ring suddenly returned to its original, flat and still platform, and the agents all ceased their fighting and went in the center of the arena to form ranks. Toph was still nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, a feminine voice, high pitched yet filled with authority and power, broke the silence.

" Not bad," Toph's voice declared from somewhere above Sokka's head. The warrior looked up, trying to spot her, but the rows of seats above him where empty. In the center of the ring where they stood, the Dai Li showed signs of a similar surprise: wasn't the mighty earthbender supposed to be somewhere _beneath_ the fighting platform?

_**She**_ _wouldn't be the gentle, charming, fairy tale type._

Toph's voice was different. It was distinctly hers, with her usual obnoxious tone and brashness, yet somehow, it was off. It was deeper… womanly? It troubled Sokka: when he and Toph had separated four years ago, she was fourteen years old, and she hadn't nearly reached her puberty. She had hardly grown at all during her two years at the South Pole, and she still looked essentially like a child: her frame was short and angular, nothing like a teenage girl's. In her letters, Sokka had witnessed her maturing and becoming more and more adult, but he had never given any thought to the physical aspect of things. She was eighteen years old, a woman by all means. What did she look like now? He realized with a jolt that he had expected to see his friend as she had always been: a tiny little girl. "How stupid am I?" he thought to himself. " I changed a lot myself during those four years, of course she would change as well!"

All in all, he wasn't at all prepared for what he was about to see.

Toph suddenly appeared at the top of the tribune were the ringmaster normally stood, her petite silhouette illuminated by a beam of light that came from one of the rare windows etched near the ceiling of the arena.

_He thought he knew how __**she**__ would be. But he never expected her to be so beautiful. _

At first, he didn't recognize her. The girl before him was taller then his best friend, but still short compared to regular standards. She had a slim, flawless silhouette, with graceful limbs and humble yet well-defined curves. Her green clothes clung to her pale skin, outlining her breast and hips. The top revealed her flat stomach, and the pants her ankles and bare feet. A single jewel adorned her arm: a black bracelet made of space earth.

But it wasn't so much her body than her face Sokka was looking at.

A cloud of glistening dust formed a halo of light around her head, her waist-long black hair managing to gleam in the sunrays in spite of the earth that certainly covered them. Her pale face was harmonious and eerily familiar, her thin lips stretched in a smug smile that he knew all too well. Her eyes were wide and beautiful, a pale jade green that reflected the light in a glassy way. He knew those eyes were blind and yet could see everything. He knew they'd always captivated him.

He knew that he had already seen this girl, that his heart had recognized her the moment she'd stepped into the beam of light, but his brain wouldn't hear of it. This couldn't be Toph. Sure, Toph was cute and she could even be pretty when she made the effort to clean up and dress up a bit, but she wasn't, she could not have grown to be… to be…

… the most beautiful girl he'd seen in his entire life.

Yet, that's exactly what she was.

_He expected to recognize the girl his heart was seeking the moment he saw her._

And for a split second, his heart and brain connected and he _did _recognize her.

_Now looking for the ideal wife seemed a desperate cause so far, but he hadn't given up on finding her yet. _

For a wild, infinitely small moment, he knew he didn't need to look any longer.

There **she** was.

_Sokka had always been the logical, rational, down-to-earth type. Unlike his sister, he rarely allowed himself to believe in the unbelievable, preferring the security of the physical world to the unexpected of the Spirit world. Because of this tendency, he had often failed to grasp essential truths and had attracted a lot of trouble upon himself (the Swamp episode being the best example.) His relation with the universe was complicated and tended to be unusually difficult, most likely because of his refusal to listen to it's words. He always made things more complicated than they had to be, and he never saw the obvious._

_This time was no different._

_**There she was.**_

_As soon as the thought entered his mind, his rational side got the better of him and his bright illumination was swiftly drawn in the oblivion of his subconscious. _

_As always, things were bound to be complicated. _

**Toph's POV : The Stare**

They _still_ didn't get it.

Toph had been training the Dai Li for months now, and she had witnessed the agents making huge progress; the Earth King himself was very satisfied with the quality of her teaching. Everyone expected that she would soon have nothing more to teach them, but the young earthbending master knew better.

Sure, they had learned to identify the different components of the earth and use them to their advantage, and sure, they had become pretty good at creating earthquakes. But that wasn't enough.

They still couldn't listen to the earth.

Otherwise, they would have noticed that she wasn't bending from _under_ the platform, but from _above_.

They had turned the ground upside down to search for her, without even pausing to verify if they could sense her heartbeat beneath their feet.

Pathetic.

She nonchalantly advanced at the front of the ringmaster's tribune that hovered above the fighting platform. It was connected to it at it's base, and through her bare feet she could feel the vibrations that traveled up to her from the center of the ring: the Dai Li had formed ranks, and she sensed them turn towards her in surprise as she spoke.

" Not bad…" she began, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips. The respect and admiration the Dai Li harbored for her made Toph one of the rare people that could address the agents with sarcasm and criticism without being neatly killed on the spot, and she much abused of this privilege.

" Not bad … for beginners." She finished; she could almost feel their hearts sinking in their chests as she said this. _Good for them_, she thought smugly to herself. _They're so arrogant_. Of course, she amended, she was twice as pretentious as they were, but wasn't she the greatest earthbender in the world?

" Sifu Bei Fong," one of the agents asked in frustrated puzzlement from below " weren't you supposed to be hiding under the platform?"

Her blind eyes shifted towards the source of the voice, but she was careful to rest her gaze somewhere above where she sensed the agent's head to be. She hated it when she accidentally met someone's eye: in spite of her blindness, she could feel their unease as they unwillingly plunged into the depths of her vacant orbs. She'd always been able to tell when people stared at her, and she was used to the aggravating sensation of a person's gaze seeping beneath her skin; when her eyes locked with someone else's, this sensation intensified, and it felt like they could see right into her, right through her protective walls of sarcasm, brashness and false pretense, something she most definitely did _not _want anyone to do. The truth was, she was very vulnerable inside, but she would not allow anyone to discover it, not as long as she lived.

" That's what I _told _you I would do, isn't it?" she answered slowly, willing the agent to understand what she was implying.

" Yes, that's what you told us, so why didn't you…"

" In battle," she interrupted harshly, raising her voice to address the entire Dai Li, "Do your enemies tell you where they are hiding to ambush you?" She paused expectantly, and faced with their lack of response she yelled: "No! You have to figure out by yourselves where the attacks come from, and to do so you have to pay attention to your environment. You have to use other senses then sight to detect the invisible: you have to stay alert to sounds, smells… and in this case, vibrations and heartbeats. If you had taken the time to_ listen_ to the ground, you would have found out pretty quickly that there wasn't a damn living thing under there; I was up here the whole time! You've got to learn to feel the vibrations and temperature changes in the earth: that's the only way you can truly keep tabs on your opponent no matter where he is."

" Sifu Bei Fong, what you are saying is very sensible, but the Dai Li hardly needs to learn how to avoid ambush, as this seems to be the goal of this lesson; we are…"

She loved when one of them tried to challenge her teaching: it didn't happen often, but when it did, she had a devilish pleasure to destroy their argumentation:

" Being the masters of sneak attacks doesn't mean that you'll never be crept up on" she mocked. " The day you'll understand this, maybe you'll have a prayer of beating me. Maybe. Dismissed."

She always went straight to the point, and she never lost time arguing uselessly with her students, no matter how fun it could be. Considering that she'd made her point and that they'd learned enough for the day, she ended the session by waving them off: accustomed to her abrupt demeanor, the Dai Li left the arena silently. It's only then that she descended from the tribune, making her way through the rows of stone seats that circled the ring, and that he suddenly entered her vision.

The section of the arena where the audience sat was separated from the fighting platform and tribune, which is why she hadn't sensed the man's presence before. She froze as he unexpectedly appeared to her, and at first she wondered how he had entered the arena: the doors where supposed to be locked to preserve secrecy. Then she noticed his unusually fast heartbeat and nervous breathing, and she realized with a start that he was looking in her direction. _Staring_ at her. Now, if there was something that she hated more than someone spying on her private lessons, it was someone who outright stared at her: she should have felt that stare long ago! No one had ever watched her for so long without her noticing. Ever.

What she had no way of knowing was that this particular stare had nothing to do with the ones she was usually granted with: it wasn't a judgmental, unfriendly, frightened gaze that seeped beneath her skin, attempting to break her defenses. This gaze was enveloping, caressing, admiring, captivated and filled with wonder, alight with awe and the tender, powerful brilliancy of true love. No one had ever looked at the young earthbender with such loving intensity, and she never would have thought such a gaze could be laid on her. She didn't feel the stare because she couldn't conceive it to exist, let alone for her.

The man was tall and muscular, and she could tell by his stature that he was a fighter, and a good one. The vigor with which his heart sped in his chest indicated that he was fairly young; 20, 25 maybe. He could have seemed intimidating to anyone else if it hadn't been for his obvious lack of confidence and uncanny anxiety: she figured he must be afraid of her. Men who knew what she was capable of usually felt that way. But he was right to be scarred.

No one spied on Toph Bei Fong. And no one, _no one,_ stared at her.

They faced each other for less than five seconds, only a few rows of seats and a dozen meters separating them. He took one step in her direction.

She stomped her foot violently on the ground and with a flick of her wrist she threw a huge boulder right at the man's face. She was even faster then when she was twelve years old, and her attack was so sudden there was no way he could avoid it.

Yet he did.

With one, impeccable back-flip, he moved out of harm's way, disappearing from her sight for a split second before landing neatly on his feet, a couple meters from the place where he'd stood a few seconds ago. Apart from Twinkletoes, she had never witnessed anyone moving so fast. But this wasn't her former earthbending student - Aang was much lighter on his feet. However, there was something familiar with the way he moved: he was graceful and precise, efficient and strong. But it wasn't only that: there was something fluid and harmonious in him, that conferred a particular edge to his movements, like he was in perfect unity with his body and environment; everyone of his actions sent a wave of vibrations that rippled like the surface of a lake, softly and smoothly.

A strong sense of familiarity overwhelmed her - she knew those ripple-like vibrations! And, now that she thought about it, she also new that heartbeat, presently in disarray but usually so steady and soothing.

She knew this man.

- "Hey!" Sokka complained, "why'd you do that? And what happened to the good old punch to the arm? Please don't tell me you've decided to demonstrate your affection with boulders now, cause honestly, I don't think I'll survive it…"

- "Sokka!" she breathed.

_**So, what do you think? I know the end is a little abrupt, but I don't have time to continue just know and I wanted to update as soon as possible. So here, a very long, very intense chapter. Tokka moments begin in chapter six! Thank you so much for your patience, I know this suspense is beginning to get annoying. I really hope I'll be able to put chapter six up soon... I unfortunately can't promise you anything.**_

**_Thanks for reading: it means the world to me!_**


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